Chapter 3:
There had been an incident.
One where the dead walked the earth.
And one where an entire county was met with darkness.
There had been an incident.
Dani took a bite of her reheated homemade pizza. " 'Save The' what now?"
Will looked at her, then the strawberries she had brought with her. Then took one when she slid the Tupperware towards him and Zach. "Save the Citizen. How do you not know about Save the Citizen?"
She tilted her head, "I didn't grow up in this environment. My mom wasn't exactly open about her past."
Zach took a strawberry, "Are you sure your mom wasn't a villain?"
"Nope!" Dani smiled, "All I know is my parents met while my dad was in college. They never went into specifics, just that it was love at first sight and when the time came, my mom went home with him." She took a strawberry, and looked at it and her pizza, "Fruit Pizza for dessert tonight." She nodded to herself. "So why do we miss afternoon classes today?"
"Save the Citizen is where one team, the heroes, fights against another team, the villains, tries to save the citizen, a doll."
Zach patted Will on the back. "Will is the reigning champion."
Will had the decency to blush and rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, Warren and I, uprooted the champions last year and no one's been able to win against us since."
Dani 'hmmed' into her pizza, "Interesting. But I don't think I'll be allowed to participate..."
Will scrunched his brow and Zach spoke, "That's cool, you can sit with us, no one picks hero support for a partner."
"Cool. I'll bring snacks." They fist-bumped.
"Why wouldn't you be allowed?" Will looked at her with confusion. Dani tried to stuff her mouth with enough food so that she physically couldn't talk. Will took the hint, "Sorry for asking."
She chewed a bunch and swallowed hard. "Thanks…" She rubbed her throat, "That hurt. Ow.."
They sat in the stands waiting for the next group to get ready, three-minute batches with five minutes in between to swap teams. No wonder this took all afternoon. Dani ate some popcorn, before passing it towards Zach, Ethan and Layla on her left. Magenta, Will and Warren sat on her right and she looked over for the bag of Oreos. They were in Will's hand, making sure Warren didn't want any.
She saw Warren roll his eyes, and take a couple. So maybe Will was doing more than checking if Warren wanted them. Now that she thought about it, Warren never had lunch. He just sat there with his books. Ignoring them while they talked around him.
Will saw her looking and grinned before passing her the bag. "Thanks." She offered the bag to Magenta who was side-eyeing Zach, or the popcorn. "Do you want to switch places?" She whispered.
Magenta jumped a little as though she had been startled, "No, it's fine." She noticed the bag of Oreos being offered, "Thanks."
Dani took a couple of cookies, leaned over and shook the bag towards Layla's general area. Layla looked over and took the bag, "Thank you."
They all jumped when Coach Boomer called, "Stronghold! Hothead! You're up!"
They watched as Will and Warren got up, Will offered them a wave before heading down the bleachers. Dani jumped again when she heard Giselle's voice in her ear, "I want popcorn."
"You can't have popcorn, you're dead." The other four had gotten used to her talking to air randomly about a week back.
"I know, and it makes me miss food."
"Food is good." Dani nodded. They watched as Will and Warren exited onto the floor with two other people, whose names she didn't know. That had been Giselle's job when she had been alive. "Who are they up against?" She whispered to Zach.
"Larry and some Junior."
"Larry?" She looked around for the red-haired boy but only saw a girl and a rock giant. It took her a minute, "Larry's a rock?"
"Yeah, we were impressed too."
Giselle whispered into Dani's ear, "Look at Warren." Dani did and saw him hurl a fireball at his classmate. "Guess he's hot in more ways than one."
Dani choked on her spit and started coughing into her elbow. Magenta and Zach patted her on the back, surprised by the sudden fit. Once they both realized that the other was also trying to help they both stopped and looked back at the floor. Dani took a drink of water when Layla asked, "What'd your ghost friend say?"
"That Warren was hot in more ways than one." Dani rolled her eyes. She felt the temperature drop a couple of degrees, and looked around. A blonde girl a couple of rows down was glaring at her, her hands were ice. "And that explains the temperature drop." She muttered and patted Magenta on the shoulder, "Who's that?"
Magenta followed the cold spike and the girl looked away, "Oh, that's Eve."
"Who?" The name was definitely one she had heard but couldn't remember where.
"Warren's on and off again girlfriend." Zach piped up, "She doesn't like when people hit on her boyfriend."
Dani's brow scrunched, "But they're not dating."
Magenta rolled her eyes, "Oh, in her mind, even broken up they're always dating. It's part of the reason they can't keep their relationship going."
Dani snorted, "Glad to see some things are universal."
The cheering began around them and they saw Warren and Will, who was holding the civilian, standing there victorious. Dani clapped with the crowd before going into her bag and grabbing a sandwich, it seemed like it was going to be a long afternoon. She heard Coach Boomer shout something but focused on unwrapping her sandwich. She was about to take a bite when she saw everyone staring at her. She lowered the sandwich from her lips, "What?"
"Boomer's calling for you. Weren't you listening?" Layla looked at her curiously.
"Come on, New Girl, I haven't got all day!" She heard it this time and nearly dropped the sandwich.
She looked at Boomer, "Are you sure I'm actually allowed to participate in this?"
"If I said you can, you can! Now get a move on!"
"Oh. Okay. Can I take off the dampener?"
He looked apprehensively for a moment, before nodding, "Sure, why not? Just go get ready."
A grin grew on her face and she rushed down the bleachers and into the locker room. She struggled to put on the Protective Gear but managed to get it on once Giselle started helping. Dani walked back out to the gym and saw some quivering freshman standing on the opposite end of the court. That must have been her partner, she walked towards them, "Hi, I'm Dani."
"Hi." They squeaked. "I...I'm Chris."
"Christopher or Christian?"
"Christina." Her knees began shaking.
Dani sighed, "Sorry. Well, Chris take a deep breath and leave this to me."
"New Girl, Wright, you're the villains. You have three minutes to immobilize your opponent and let your citizen fall to their doom." Boomer explained the rules.
"Seems a bit wrong to be teaching your students this, but okay." Dani's bracelet rattled and she gripped it.
"Ready! Set! Battle!" Boomer's voice echoed through the gym as he started his stopwatch.
"Get the citizen, I'll handle these two," Warren told Will.
Will was planning to fly off until he felt something ooze it's way up to his leg. He looked down and saw his and Warren's legs sinking into puddles of blackish-purple ooze. They looked to see if it was the kid holding them there, but they saw Dani's fingers drip with it as she mumbled something.
"Billy, Phillip, and Freddie. I summon you." The void opened up and they began to crawl out. "Giselle when they break out, keep Will from the citizen. This might be the only chance we have to participate, we might as well enjoy it."
Giselle saluted, "On it, Boss!"
Dani looked at her zombies, "Do me a solid and don't puke on the floor, Boomer seems like the type to penalize you for making a mess." The three agreed. She looked at Billy, who was wearing his purple flower print apron. "I interrupted you doing something, sorry." He groaned something. "Thanks." She let out a breath, "Three, two, one." The ooze stopped dripping from her fingers and the puddles Warren and Will were trapped in disappeared. "Go!"
The zombies began shambling towards Warren, who looked at Will, "The plan hasn't changed. Save the citizen." He watched as Will's face changed from series to laughing. "What's wrong with you?!"
"Something's tickling me!" Will squirmed and flailed but nothing worked.
With Warren's attention divided, he missed the first swing of the zombie's arm, and it hit him hard, nearly knocking him to the floor. He heard something like a whisper, "Don't kill him." The next hit that landed was a little softer and he heard the whisper, "Watch his hands. Fire hurts."
Will managed to stop laughing long enough to get into the air, with a relieved sigh, "Finally. I guess Dani wasn't kidding when she said she had a ghost." He flew into something hard, but there wasn't anything there.
Warren let out a roar and knocked the zombies back, "Stronghold! The citizen! Now!"
"On it!" Or at least he was trying.
Warren rushed Dani, something that he had been taught, to stop a Summoner, you have to stop the summoner themself and not play with their pets. He went to strike her, and hopefully, distract her so Stronghold could get the citizen. But his hand didn't make contact.
Dani's arm shot up the moment she saw Warren take the swing and her arm caught his elbow stopping it before it hit. Her foot met his chest and kicked him back. He slid back but not as far as she would have liked. She looked behind him to see her zombies still struggling to get up, he had clearly done some damage. He tried to rush her again, and only to be blocked again. She only had to hold them off for another two minutes.
The pattern repeated five more times. Warren would rush her and she would block and force him back. Frankly, she just wanted to drop him but along with the 'no heavy exercise rule', she had also been told no heavy lifting either. And she did not doubt that the wall of muscle that was Warren Peace would definitely count as heavy lifting. Warren rushed her again, going for her flank and this time she dodged. At some point, he would get tired. Maybe. Hopefully.
"Dani!" She heard Giselle cry out. She looked up to see Will flying left and right trying to get past the invisible wall that was Giselle. She noticed her friend was beginning to look a little tired. Her eyes shot towards the zombies, who were still struggling to get back up. What the heck did he do to them? Her eyes shot back to Giselle and back to the zombies. She couldn't help either of them while….Warren was restraining her? What? Wait? What? Since? When?
"Don't struggle, I don't want to hurt you." Warren's words were hot on her head. In fact, Warren was hot. In more than two ways. Like freakishly warm even. "Call them off and stand down."
She sighed then muttered, "This is going to suck." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Ya know, Warren, you've made two very important mistakes today." Before he could even think of a retort, she kicked his leg out from him, and as he lost his balance she grabbed his protective gear and flipped him over her shoulder. Pain shot up her side, and she couldn't hold back the pained scream that built in her throat. She got him over her shoulder and onto the floor, he stared at her in shock. She placed her foot on his chest and put enough pressure on it to keep him down. "The first was underestimating your opponent." She gently rubbed her side, hoping it would soothe the throbbing there, as she gasped for air. Warren's shock was beginning to wear off and she clenched and unclenched her hands repetitively. She had never used her other power willingly. She stopped looking at him and looked at Will, "And the second is assuming that necromancy is my only power." She splayed her hands out, palms down, and took another breath then released it slowly.
"DANI!" Giselle's shout echoed throughout the gym. Dani's hands quickly flipped over and shot up.
Will was still trying to fight off Dani's Ghost Friend, but it was really hard to fight something you couldn't see or touch. But at least it seemed like he was winning. Or at least it did until something wrapped around his wrists, then his legs, then his stomach and chest. He tried to rip them off but more shot up. He looked at the freshman, thinking it was them, but saw them standing there, shaking. Then he looked over at Dani and she wiggled her fingers at him before slamming her hands down.
She was nine when her other power first manifested. Some older boys had been bullying her again. This time, they had decided to chase her and Giselle, hurling insults as they ran behind them. They had chased them into a dead-end alleyway. There was nowhere to run, and she couldn't call for Billy, she hadn't been allowed to bring her bracelet to school. Giselle shouted at them from where she stood from behind her. Her legs shook, and her heart pounded. No one was coming this time. It had been scarier than the time Giselle's father had shown up.
That was when her mother had admitted she had superpowers. That was when she had been forbidden from using them. And that was the first time she had heard her mother's old name.
Nyx.
Dani's hands quickly flipped over and shot up. The black ropes of embodied darkness shot up from the ground wrapping themselves around Will's limbs and waist. He fought but the more he fought the more they wrapped around him. He looked around, thinking it was the freshman and when he realised it wasn't. He looked at her, she smiled and wiggled her fingers in greeting. Then, she took another breath and slammed her hands towards the floor. The ropes slammed him into the floor with an audible thud. Dani cringed, "Sorry!" She called before finding herself on the floor with Warren pinning her down.
Warren quickly gripped her wrists in his left hand while he held his powered up his right hand near her face, close enough to feel the heat but not enough to burn, yet. "Give up and I'll move."
Dani struggled to get her hands free but he didn't budge. She hadn't felt a grip this hard since she had been arrested and tossed in front of the Council. The thought made her mind go elsewhere, where the hard gymnasium wood floor was hard, cold concrete. And the smell of death permeated the air.
"BILLY!" The scream wasn't that of a confident necromancer, but that of a terrified child whose rock was a zombie.
And then Warren was gone, the thud he made against the barrier barely registered as she sat up. And then Phillip and Freddie were there helping her up. She gripped their arms as she caught her breath. Somewhere in the background, she heard people chanting. Then she saw it, Billy pinning Warren to the barrier with his protective gear, Warren's feet dangling off the floor and Billy was ready to finish it.
"STOP!" Dani cried as the buzzer rang and the 'Citizen' went into the razor blades. Billy dropped Warren and went back to her side. Coach Boomer began talking but she looked at Billy. "You can't do that. You know you can't do that." Billy groaned something and she bit her lip. "I-I'm fine. And you can't do that. None of you can. End of conversation."
"NEW GIRL!" Coach Boomer brought her back to the now.
She looked up and saw him glaring. Will and Warren were gone. "Yeah?"
"Heroes or Villains?"
Dani shook her head, "I don't care." She walked over to where Chris stood. "Any thoughts?" But the girl just shook her head.
Boomer let out a sigh, "Fine. Heroes. Who do you want to fight next?" She gave him a look that was equally disinterested and confused. He called down two people who she didn't recognize.
"Hey, kid. Who are they?"
Chris began shaking again. "They're seniors, she's got the power of illusion and he's got the ability to manipulate water. And we have to save the Citizen before they fall into…"
"The blades. Got it." She looked at Giselle, "Can I leave that to you?" She looked at the zombies, "Keep them distracted. It'll be easy." She frowned, what kind of bullshit power was 'illusion'? It sounded dumb.
It was in fact not dumb. As soon as Boomer called out, "Battle!" Dani felt something tickling the back of her mind. Kind of like ghosts did, but it was different. Then before she knew it, she was on the floor. The cold concrete floor.
They watched as Warren and Will left the arena, Warren needed a bit of help. The sound of him being thrown into the plexiglass wasn't a sound any of them would forget any time soon. They were quiet as Boomer blew the whistle and they watched as the two seniors entered the arena. Boomer called out "Battle!" and then without any resistance, Dani fell to the floor. The gym was quiet as the zombies stopped moving and the second senior started approaching the freshman.
SNAP
Then there was darkness.
Author's note: New chapter! New chapter! New chapter!
Hope y'all enjoyed it. (The only reason this chapter exists is that I wanted to write the sentence "Warren's hotter in more ways than one." AND I DID)
Disney: give us more Sky High
